Red Leaves
by HelloReality
Summary: [Pairings: TentenDeidara, TentenNeji, TentenLee, SakuraLee. Spoliers for part 2] Tenten knew dating an Scriminal would be dangerous but she didn't know it would change her whole life around.


Beautiful flower,

so powerful and yet,

it is so fragile.

Tenten stared at the night sky. It was littered with stars. She sighed, rubbing her hand against her forehead. _Insomnia. _Anxiety is keeping her up. She looks with worry toward the main gate. Will her lover _make it?_

She remembered when he had referred to her as a flower. Delicate yet oh so strong. Tenten began to shake. "Lee; He left me for Sakura."He held her as she wept. _I still love him . . . _

The scent of blood filled her nose. He made it. "You waited for me,"he said, sitting next to her. Tenten didn't look at him. She was focused on the past.

"Yes," she said, "I wanted to make sure you made it," His tan hand entwined with her pale ones. Tenten giggled. "It tickles," He smiled at her, feeling content with her laughter. But the wind blew as a caution. He got up to leave. He expected her to complain but she didn't. He flashed her one more smile before leaving. _Please come back to me, Deidara . . . _

Two star-crossed lovers,

never mind make that three.

Lost in all of their

lies, caught up in deception.

Skeletons in the closet.

A few days later, Tenten stayed up all night again. She is paced around her room, her brown hair messy from previous events. "Please don't run into each other. Please," She said aloud while she stared out the window once more. Tenten hoped they won't run into each other. She hoped he won't find out. But what she hoped for . . . Is the _inevitable_.

---------

Deidara jumped into the window that Tenten has left opened. He then grinned to himself; Tenten is still asleep. He plans to surprise her since he was a little bit late. Silently, he crept into her bed to see not Tenten but Neji.

---------

Neji glared at her. All the time, Tenten planned their meetings carefully. But he knew. "Tenten," He said as he walked closer to her, "Such a disgrace," But his eyes soften and they begin to water. He hugged her, wishing she was still his. _Why did it have to end like this?_

She didn't think she

was selfish. But she knew that

she was. Keeping them

to herself. And when it came

crashing down, she wondered,

"What did I gain?"

Tenten cried for the 10th time that night. She was charged with treason. Everyone was whispering behind her back. She couldn't take it. "Why did everything come crashing down?" She asked herself as she buried her head in her pillow. _Because you cheated._

Angry with herself, Tenten quickly summoned a kunai. She stared at it. The steel was cold in her hand. She fiddled with it, playing around with the idea to take her own life. "No one would notice," She said grimly to herself, "And if they did, they wouldn't care," She sighed and positioned it at her stomach. _I'm sorry . . . _

Someone grabbed her hand, stopping her from pushing the dagger into her pale flesh. She looked up, tears in her chocolate brown eyes. _Why are you here?_

We could never be

together anyway. So

why do we keep

clinging onto it?

She couldn't help but feel happy. But at the same time she was angry. "Why are you here?!" She shouted at him, "You've already made my life hell!" Tenten stared at the floor. The tears wouldn't stop flowing. She choked out, "Why don't you leave me alone." He looked at her. His silver eyes filled with sorrow. He pulled her up into a loving embrace, Tenten grimaced. _Blood . . . _

She backs away from him to see there is blood on his hands and shirt. There is also blood on her own. "Please," She whispered, coming to a frightening realization, "tell me you didn't kill him," He didn't . . . _Reply. _

Her tears are falling down her face, soaking her shirt. She looks at him. Look what you've done to me, She thought bitterly. "I'm sorry. . .Hokage's order," Neji apologized. Tenten sat back on the bed, her head in her hands. She cursed Neji between sobs. And when he tried to hold her, she pushed him away. _Why did you die- Deidara?_

I'm standing here at

your grave. Tears threatening to

spill. Deidara. . .Why?

Tenten is standing in front of a grave that is unmarked. She is bony and pale. Her fragile frame is racking with tears. She raised her hand to quiet her sobs. An onlooker smirked. She doesn't _know._

He jumped down from the trees. Tenten has already whipped out a kunai. "Who are you and what do you want?" She asked, not even bothering to turn around. He grinned.

"Why don't you look at me?" He said, playfully. That voice!, Tenten thought as she turned around. _But you died!!_

His bright smile blinds her. Tenten knows this is not true. But she hugged him anyway and cried as if she was a child. He holds her and they rock back and forth.

_Your just a ghost. . ._

Your just a ghost of

my troubled past. But you say,

you are, indeed, real.

Deidara's in her rooming, lying on her bed. His shirt is thrown on the ground somewhere. Tenten is wrapped in a bathrobe. She watched him. Her eyes are empty for she knows he is just a ghost. "You died a week ago," Tenten said as she got up and moved closer to him, "Please, stop haunting me," Her lover rolled over so he was looking straight at her. His blue eyes dazzling with life. Tenten shuddered. _All was not right._

"Tenten," Deidara whispered seductively. "If I was dead would I be able to do this?" He sat up so his face was right next to her. They shared a chaste kiss. It was _lifeless and cold_.

Tenten was still for a few minutes. Her hands came up and touched his face. It was freezing. "Tenten," He whispered into her ear. "Wake up," And she did just that.

We've run away to,

create our own place.

Just escape the

harsh reality we face.

At least, we'll be together.

Tenten opened her eyes; She is not in her room. She panics and tries to reach for her summoning scroll that is lying near her. But when she moved a sharp pain surged up her side. What's going on!?

"A ninja who has abandoned his/her village is charged with death to protect the village's secrets. Neji tried to kill you. I intervened," Deidara said. Tenten looks around to see him sitting behind her. She, confused, slowly reached up and touched his face. She smiled. _Deidara. . .You don't know how much I love you._

He explained everything to her. How Neji tried to kill her, his intervention, and how she was asleep for five days. Tenten listened, down-heartedly. "So what do I do now?" She asked as she ran her fingers through his blond hair. Deidara grinned as if he was waiting his whole life to tell her this.

"_Join the Akatsuki,"_

Tenten stared into his blue eyes. Tears started to form in her own. She didn't know if she was ready to give it all up. He must've sensed this because he immediately began to apologize. _I only want what's best for you._

Tenten jumped rooftop to rooftop. She was breathing heavily and her leg was bleeding. Her summoning scroll was discarded a long time ago. A kunai whizzed past her ear. The next one hit her in the shoulder. Tenten gasped as pain surged through her system. It hit a pressure point. Hastily, she pulled it out and through it back at her mysterious follower. She didn't even bother to look back to see if it hit and continued to jump rooftop to rooftop. But her leg finally gave out on her and fell face first to the ground below. Tenten hissed as dirt filled her wounds. She rolled over to see red eyes that chilled her to the bone. _The Angel of Death._

Tenten woke up to see Deidara shaking her. She hugged him and sobbed out her dream. He patted her on the back saying kind things in her ear. I cry _to much. . ._

Whenever she falls,

she gets right back up. Just

to prove she's not weak.

Three days later, Deidara was getting ready to leave, avoiding Tenten's never averting gaze. He has to go. "Sasori-danna is probably worried about me, un," He told her while he packed. Well, Tenten thought bitterly, I'm going to worry about you too.

He's ready to leave. Deidara stared at Tenten who is staring right back at him. She gets up, ignoring the dull pain in her side, and shared a bittersweet kiss. "Please, come back to me," She whispered as she nuzzled into his chest. He put his head over hers.

"I promise I will,"

Tenten watched him go. She placed both of her hands over her heart. "Deidara," She said aloud, "Don't get hurt. . ."

Her knight in shining

armor has left her. She hopes

he keeps his promise.

Tenten got her stuff. She had to leave. Even though Deidara said she would be safest here, she knew Konoha was looking for her. She grabbed her large summoning scroll. Before placing it on her back, she summoned a kunai. Tenten then walked over to a tree. She carved _T + D, forever._

---------

Tenten came to a stop. Her breath was ragged. The pain her side was crippling her speed. The wound must be re-opening, She thought sadly. Tenten leaned against the tree, her breathing slowing, and masked her chakra. She slowly slid down the tree til she was sitting on the ground. Tenten readjusted her summoning scroll as her eyes drooped close. I hope no one finds me. . .

When she woke up, she noticed she was being carried. Ninja sense's immediately kicked in. Trying to keep her breath steady, Tenten reached up her sleeve. She was trying to pull out a kunai. But when she looked up she saw_ him_ staring at her. _The Angel of Death_.

The Angel of Death

has come to reap your soul.

Red eyes glaring.

Tenten resisted the urge to scream. His red eyes. They were so vivid, so. . .red. They made her blood cold. Am I _dead?_

"I see your awake," The angel said, "Kisame, put her down. I think she can walk," Kisame grunted and set her down. Tenten stretched to pop her joints. She then looked around. I'm not dead, She thought angrily as she looked at Itachi and Kisame, Reality is. . ._That I'm going to._

The Uchiha and Kisame were watching her from the corner of their eyes. Tenten cold feel their icy stares. It's not like I can with this cut on my side, She thought annoyed. She then doubled over from the pain in her side. The wound was now fully open and was bleeding heavily. The two Akatsuki members stopped and looked at her, whispering things among themselves as they tended to her. _I don't think I'll make it. . ._

Will she choose Death or

will she find the will to love?

Her lover hopes for the latter . . .

"So, Tenten-san. Do you know why we kidnaped you," Kisame said airily.

"Because I'm from Konoha," Tenten replied bitterly. Kisame gave a dry laugh. Your so judgmental.

Tenten's confusion was evident. "Well, you did say you want to join the Akatsuki, didn't you?" Kisame asked. Tenten nodded, not knowing where this was all headed. "Okay! We're going to go see Sir Leader," He replied, grinning a little. Itachi nodded. Tenten smiled to herself. So you were watching out for me _even after you left._

Sir Leader accepted her with open arms, on the condition she told him some of Konoha secrets. Tenten couldn't do that. Sir Leader didn't care, though."You'll come around," He told her. He then dismissed her to Deidara and Sasori's room. Tenten frowned a little. _I'm sorry, Deidara. I'm still not sure what I want to do. . ._

Faced with a

difficult choice. What will

she do? The right thing,

hopefully, that is.

Tenten laid on, what she thought was, Deidara's bed. She was waiting for him to come back from his mission. She stared up ceiling, imaging that Deidara was lying next to her. She began to get hotter as her imagination grew wilder. But it was interrupted by the sound of a door being opened.

It was Deidara. His face was grim. His clothes were torn. "She killed him," He babbled as he closed the door, "That girl with the pink hair. . .and his own grandma. They killed him.." Tenten stood up as Deidara walked over to her. He shrugged his cloak off. Now he was only clad in a ripped mesh shirt and some black sweats. He wrapped his hands around Tenten's waist, bringing her closer to him. Tenten looked at him. Deidara's eyes were filled with need. "Tenten," He whispered into her ear, "I need you,"

Later that day, Tenten woke up in bed with Deidara lying next to her. She smiled as the previous events played in her head. Feeling the need to take a shower, She got up and put her discarded clothes back on. She walked to the bathroom in a giddy mood. But Tenten failed to realize she had no extra clothes, so when she got out of the shower, the kunoichi had to walk back to Deidara's room with only a towel on. When Tenten walked past Hidan, he whistled at her. She blushed, turned around and said, "Sorry. I'm taken _by Deidara." _

All of this may seem

like a life of luxury.

Too bad it is not.

Now clad in Deidara's clothing, Tenten admired herself in the mirror. His clothes were a little bit to loose. Then there was a knock at the door. Tenten walked over and opened it. It was Zetsu. "Sir Leader wants to see you,"

---------

"I see you made yourself at home," Sir leader said, his back facing Tenten. She nodded. "You know you can't stay here forever," He know turned around. His eyes staring right the kunoichi. Tenten nodded again. "You have to swear your allegiance to the Akatsuki or Konoha," He paused for a second, "Who do you _choose?"_

Tenten bit her lip and looked at the ceiling. Sir Leader stared at her with one eyebrow raised. "I, Tenten," Tenten started. She looked back at sir Leader with a grin on her face._ "I, Tenten, would like to join the Akatsuki,"_

She no longer cares

what Konoha thinks of her.

As long as Deidara is here.


End file.
